Runaway
by xXNerdAlertXx
Summary: Princess Zelda, who is tired of being constantly nagged by her father to form an alliance with another country through marriage, is not ready and might never be. With her future being decided for her, the only choice may to be to run away... Rating may change as the story progresses
1. Chapter 1

Hi, all. :] I'm back with another story...I can't say much about this except for the fact that I hope it goes well and I hope it gets better as I go along. Anyway, enjoy. :D

Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Zelda.

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**Runaway  
**xXNerdAlertXx

The heavy doors to the throne room swung shut with a huge bang, leaving an astonished silence as Princess Zelda huffily stomped her way down the hall. King Daphnes, who was left behind as Zelda barged through the huge doors, rubbed his forehead exasperatedly. The dark circles under his eyes and his matted gray hair showed how worn out he was. His royal duties were already weighing him down, now having to find Zelda a suitable husband that she would marry was exhausting him, as the princess wouldn't seem to agree to any suitor that he suggested.

Meanwhile, in the royal garden, the princess sat down on the edge of a fountain so hard that it made her skirts flutter as if they were as annoyed as she was. She expected her father to know by now that she didn't want to marry anytime soon. After all, every discussion they had had on every suitor that he put forth had ended somewhat like this. The king had scrambled to seek out every suitable prince from the neighboring kingdoms for her to wed as soon as she had come of age, and she was sick of having to meet endless men that she knew even before laying eyes on were not meant for her.

The king's argument was that her duty was to serve her country and that unifying two kingdoms was her best option. According to her father, this marriage wasn't supposed to be for love, anyway. Zelda, however, begged to differ. As a princess, she was already almost always confined to the palace, having to attend meetings, host balls, and learn proper royal etiquette, among countless other things. What little time to herself she had left was about to be taken away by her father's insistence on her marriage.

Zelda knew that her father was getting impatient. She knew the kingdom was depending on her to rule after her father's time. She knew that she had to serve her people and that was what she had been prepared for since before she could remember. But she also knew that she had to be happy, herself. Marrying someone she had no feelings for would make her absolutely miserable. She was aware that she was being selfish, but she was human, after all.

Zelda slid off her perch by the fountain and curled up in a ball in a very unladylike fashion in the grass, burying her face into her skirts as the hot tears that she had tried hard to keep at bay threatened to escape. The pressure that was being put on her constantly was starting to feel like too much. Her royal duties were already weighing her down, now having to put up with her father and suitors was exhausting her, as the king wouldn't seem to listen to how she felt about getting married.

As calming as the garden was to her, Zelda's room was always the place for her to be when she was sulking, and the young princess made her way to her quarters in silence, letting out the occasional sniffle and swiping at her cheeks once in a while to wipe away any stray tears. Zelda let out a deep sigh once she shut her bedroom door behind her, closing out any commotion on the other side of the wall. This would happen again, and it would probably end up the same way it had today, but she would put it off for as long as she could.

Zelda fell limply onto her bed, sending the sheets and pillows tumbling into disarray. She grabbed the nearest cushion and buried her face into it, letting the remainder of the tears on her face soak into the fabric of the cover. She was miserable, and the fact that she couldn't confide in anyone who would truly understand wasn't helping at all.

Impa stood outside the princess's bedchambers, pressing her ear to the wooden door and listening to the girl's sobs. Her heart went out to Zelda; she knew how hard it was for her, and her first thought was to barge into the room to comfort the princess, but she knew that all she could do today was let the girl settle her emotions on her own. Zelda needed some time to work things out with herself and her father, and as much as Impa hated to admit it, she wasn't a baby anymore. Impa was used to caring for the princess, having been there for her since birth, but she knew Zelda had to handle this by herself. Her heart sinking to the pit of her stomach, Impa turned slowly away from the door and paced down the hallway silently.

Everyone in the castle felt the tension. Even the servants and people who were in no way affected by the constant clashing between the king and princess were weighed down by the princess's outburst that day. The whole place seemed strangely quiet, completely devoid of the usual bustle and cheeriness that its walls held on normal days. This uneasiness had been present for quite some time now, but no one been able to get used to it. The pressure seemed even more unbearable when it came time for supper, when both the royals and Impa were all gathered together.

Zelda's puffy, red eyes were a definite sign of her sullenness. She refused to speak to anyone, not even acknowledging her father or her caretaker with a glance as she sat down at the table. The king's weariness was obvious due to his tired face and disheartened appearance, and he observed his daughter guiltily, torn between the love he had for her and the love he had for his country. Impa looked back and forth between the princess and the king, not knowing what to say. She was caught between the motherly instinct she had towards Zelda and her duty to her king. At a loss for words, she directed her gaze down at her plate and kept to herself, eating quietly.

The kitchen staff had all pitched in to prepare the best meal they could to cheer everyone at the table up, but their efforts were overlooked as Zelda stood up suddenly and pushed her chair in, seemingly done with her food. She wordlessly turned on her heel and moved towards the doorway, leaving Impa awkwardly alone with the king, not knowing how to console him.

"Your Majesty," she started.

King Daphnes put up a hand, stopping her, "It's alright, Impa. I know how hard all of this is on you and the castle staff. I promise I'll find a way to settle things." He gave her a weak, somewhat reassuring smile.

Impa nodded slightly, flashing a small smile of her own back at him and excusing herself. She was sorry for leaving the king by himself, but she felt that everyone just needed some time alone to cool down and sort things out.

.~****~.

One week after Zelda's failed meeting with the last suitor, after things had simmered down to their usual pace and the castle was calm and as normal as it could be again, King Daphnes summoned her to the throne room again, apparently having important news. He heaved a nervous, raspy sigh just before sending Impa off to fetch his daughter. The announcement that he had for her could quite possibly trigger an even bigger reaction than the one from last week.

Zelda rolled her eyes as she brushed her hair, motioning to Impa to give her a few minutes to get ready. As the door closed behind her, she looked miserably at herself in the mirror. Her father had probably chosen another suitor for her. She willed herself to keep her temper under control, even if this "potential husband" was as horrible as the last. It took all her willpower not to bury her face into her hands and tangle her fingers through her well-kept hair as she deemed herself ready to go meet her father.

The princess's heavy skirts flowed about her feet as she made her way briskly through the castle, stopping one last time outside of the closed doors of the throne room to pat down her hair and dust off her dress. She had no idea why she was trying to make a good first impression on a person she had never met, but she did it for her father's sake, as an unspoken apology for the way she had acted a week ago.

The king's head snapped up the moment he heard the double doors open, knowing his daughter was probably upset with him, thinking that he had another suitor for her. Her surprise was evident on her face; the throne room was empty. She and her father were alone.

Zelda narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"…Father? What's going on?"

King Daphnes beckoned for her to come closer, letting out a silent sigh in the process. He gestured to Zelda to sit down next to him, and she did.

"Zelda…" he began, hesitating when she glanced at him with a grim expression on her face.

"I'm listening."

"I know you've been having problems with choosing a future husband, and it hasn't been easy for me, either. However, you have to understand that you'll be taking over the throne after I pass because you're my only child, and your major duty will be to keep the kingdom safe."

"I know what you're leading up to, Father." Zelda rolled her eyes subtly, and made a waving motion with her gloved hand, wanting him to get to the point.

"Your marriage is a very important matter at the moment, and since you can't seem to make a choice…I made one for you."

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So...how was it? :D Tell me with a review! I honestly don't have much planned out for the rest of the story and I'm actually a little skeptical about this fic, so if you have any suggestions or stuffs like that, click the button and let me know. :]


	2. Chapter 2

Hi there! :D First of all, I wanna say that I have major writer's block with this story, so updates might not be as often as I would like. Anyway, thank you to all who read the last chapter, I hope you enjoy this one. This was actually supposed to be part of the first chapter, but it was REALLY long, so I split it. :] If anything comes up, my excuse for inactivity would be that I'm on vacation. DISNEYLAND FTW! Ok, I'll shut up now.

Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda.

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Zelda's jaw dropped. She was expecting to have another unpleasant talk with her father, but nothing could have prepared her for news this shocking. In fact, she was so shocked, she couldn't even muster a reply or be angry enough to have an explosive reaction. After a few moments of a stunned silence, she looked at her father, outraged.

"What makes you think you can decide who I marry?"

"Zelda, I am your father, I only want the best-"

"You want the best? Which do you want the best for? The kingdom or me?" Zelda stood suddenly, knocking her chair over.

"That is an impossible choice for me to make, Zelda, and you know that. You know that I'm doing the best I can for you while taking care of the kingdom as well."

"Marriage is an impossible choice for me to make, Father. All my freedom has been taken by being a princess. Do you want to force me into giving up whatever else I have left?"

"Marriage is not prison, Zelda-"

"But it is to me!" Zelda shouted, waving her arms vehemently, as if that would somehow convince the king that marriage was a bad idea. "It's giving myself-my life-to someone else."

"How do you know that it's going to go wrong, Zelda?" The king had now also abandoned his chair and stood to look his daughter in the eye.

"How do you know it's going to go right? You don't understand, Father." She pleaded desperately. "Why can't you just accept the fact that I'm not ready, and I might never be? Why can't I rule by myself? Why can't you at least wait until I find love on my own?"

"If I have told you once, I've told you a thousand times. Love is not central to this marriage!"

"Love is all I have left, Father. I can't…I can't marry if it's not for love. I just can't." Zelda looked up at her father, sadness reflecting in her violet orbs and spilling out of her eyes in the form of tears. "I'm sorry. Please don't make me do this."

"Zelda…" The king regarded his only child, at a loss for words. He couldn't call off the marriage, not that he really wanted to. Did he want to? He wanted to stay immune to Zelda's begging, but today's conversation was starting to minutely push his decision the other way. His thoughts were interrupted as Zelda put a hand up, stopping him from any consolation he was going to try to give her.

"You don't have to say anything. I know."

And with that, she ran from him, stopping only to open the doors wide enough for her to slip through, and then she was out of Daphnes's sight, running through the castle corridors, not bothering to hide the cries emanating from her small body. She was going to lose everything to somebody she had never met. She kept running, feet pounding against the cold marble, not knowing where they were taking her. She just had to get away from her father.

Eventually, she came to a stop outside her bedroom door, too worn out to go anywhere else. Still sobbing, she stepped into the seemingly peaceful and welcoming atmosphere and locked the door from the inside. She could take absolutely no more disturbances from anyone.

Impa, having been pushed roughly into a wall by the princess while she was still out on a rampage, looked down the hall after Zelda sadly, shaking her head to herself. Obviously the father-daughter conversation had taken a bad turn. Impa's insides recoiled at the thought of her princess being this miserable forever, and a sickly feeling settled into her gut. She knew that she had the ability to do something, but felt that it was out of her place. She shook her head once again, mumbling to herself. She eyed the basket of produce that she had agreed to drop off in kitchen with the cook and decided that once she had done that, she would give the poor princess a visit and do her best to cheer her up.

Unfortunately, Zelda's bedroom door was locked. No matter how many times Impa tried, Zelda would not let her in, and the Sheikah ended up walking away dejectedly. Her only choice would be to wait until it was mealtime and try to get the two royals to lighten up. Today's supper would not be like last week's.

Much to Impa's dismay, Zelda did not show up for supper. Impa bit her lip, confused and frustrated. What could have gone so impossibly wrong to cause the girl to not want to eat? Zelda had never missed a meal in her life. King Daphnes seemed concerned, but didn't do more than to inquire about his daughter, sigh, and then continue eating. Impa uncomfortably finished her meal, and after the table was cleared, excused herself to see if she could talk some sense into Zelda.

"Zelda! Let me in at this instant, do you hear me?"

The stubborn silence that answered her propelled her to knock harder and yell louder.

"Zelda! You can't hide in there forever, dear."

"But I can hide for now. Impa, please leave me alone."

"You missed supper."

No answer.

"Zelda?"

Still nothing.

"…Are you hungry? I can see if I can rustle up some leftovers for you."

Zelda nodded from inside her room, forgetting that Impa couldn't see her, but knowing that Impa would know that she wanted food anyway. Her caretaker scurried away from the door, leaving her alone to smile brokenly by herself, knowing Impa was too soft to be stern with her for long.

Impa, on the other hand, argued fervently with herself about whether or not to persuade Zelda to go with the king's plan. She was always caught in the middle of the two royals during arguments, but never had a situation like this presented itself. She caught herself leaning towards Zelda's side, though, and sighed when she realized just how badly she felt for her princess. Zelda had never gotten the opportunity to live a "normal" life. The girl had never had that much privacy or free will in all of her years, and now she was being forced to get married to someone she had never even met.

Gathering bits and pieces from the evening's meal and placing them in a small basket, Impa decided that she had reached a conclusion. Princess Zelda, having been born into royalty, was expected to serve her people selflessly. But, Impa thought, Zelda had already done so much for the kingdom; she'd worked alongside her father on so many occasions, poring over blueprints for new buildings in the kingdom, sorting out funds for the local orphanage, answering to complaints from the citizens, always working to make others happy. The girl was still young, but had done more than her fair share of serving her country. This being said, the princess's duty was to now find her own happiness, to serve herself and find answers to her own complaints.

Servants dodged out of Impa's way as she made her way blankly back to the princess's chambers, shouting the occasional, "Watch it, Impa!" Impa paid no attention to these remarks, her thoughts only on Zelda as she blindly padded down the corridors and knocked three times on the familiar door of Zelda's bedroom.

"…It's open."

Impa slowly cracked the door open, taking on a cheerful air as she turned and held the basket out. Her smile fell as she took in the sight of Zelda, hair in a mess, sitting forlornly on the edge of her bed, looking as distraught as ever.

"Zelda, honey-"

"Can we not talk about it?" Zelda looked up from the ground as soon as Impa spoke and began to change the subject, falsely perking up for Impa's sake. "What did you bring me?"

"Oh, this and that. It's definitely not what you're used to eating for supper; just whatever I could find lying around." Impa set the basket on Zelda's writing desk, letting the girl paw through it.

"I couldn't complain, really. What about all those people who can't afford to eat? This is more than enough, thank you, Impa."

Impa moved to the bed as Zelda took the chair next to the desk and began to eat.

"Zelda, I know this marriage business isn't exactly your cup of tea, but something needs to be done. This has been going on for too long."

"What do you want me to do, Impa? I can't even bring myself to leave this room, let alone get married to someone."

"I know it's hard, but-"

"It's so much more than just hard, it's miserable! You don't understand."

"You're right. I could probably never understand." Impa admitted gently, earning a surprised look from Zelda. "I don't know what it's like. But I can help you."

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So? So? So? SO? Is it okay? From here on out, I have no idea what I'm going to do, so if you have suggestions or anything you'd like to see -possibly- happen, please tell me. :D Review please?


	3. Chapter 3

Hi there! :D I know I took FOREVAH to put this up, I actually had it written for some time and I seriously wanted to add to it, but I felt like I kept you people waiting for too long, so this is what you're stuck with. :[ I'm sorry. By the way, I'm really busy now that school's started up (which is why this hasn't been up), so please, Please, PLEASE do NOT wait tediously for me to update, because it will take a poop-ton of time. I don't want my readers to be in agony over my stories, which is a feeling I get a lot, so I know how it feels. Anyway, you've been waiting for too long, I'll shut up now and let you read this excuse for a chappie. :[

Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Zelda

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**Runaway**

xXNerdAlertXx

"What is this?" Zelda said, starting to untie the ribbon around the scroll Impa had just handed her.

Impa reached out to stop her, glancing around the room as if someone might see them. Zelda sighed at this. Obviously, they were alone.

"What is this?" Zelda repeated, holding the scroll out to Impa and shaking it slightly for emphasis.

"A map." Impa whispered in a hushed tone.

"A map?" Zelda exclaimed, her eyebrows shooting up. Impa quickly shushed her.

Ignoring Impa's protests, Zelda unfurled the scroll and curiously looked at it, immediately spotting a red "X". She rolled her eyes.

"Impa, I'm not looking for treasure."

"It's not treasure," Impa said exasperatedly. "Look closer."

Zelda squinted at the X. "Or…don Village?"

Impa nodded. "Ordon Village."

Zelda's eyebrows shot up. "You want me to run away?"

"It's your choice, dear. I just thought this would be a better option for you than staying and having to marry someone you don't approve of."

Zelda nodded slowly at this. "I'll…think about it." She lowered the scroll in her hands. "It's a big deal, Impa."

"Of course it's a big deal! It's not every day your princess runs away from home. It's very serious, and I'm breaking about fifty laws right now just suggesting this to you." Impa's voice softened as Zelda's face took on a look of guilt. "If you do decide to do it, this should come in handy." She placed a wicker basket on Zelda's bed and started across the room towards the door. "Come talk to me if you need anything," she said gently as the door closed on her.

Not allowing herself to think, Zelda lunged for the basket and dumped its contents across her sheets. It was a jumble of things Impa had collected, presumably for Zelda to wear. Inside the basket was a pink and white dress along with an apron, the uniform that all maids in the castle wore. Also included in the messy heap was a pair of thick, wire-rimmed glasses that Impa had "borrowed" from the head gardener. A piece of white cloth was there, too, for Zelda to wear as a scarf on her head to hide her blonde locks.

"A disguise…" Zelda murmured quietly to herself as she lifted the simple dress and set it down again on her lap with a quick movement. Impa knew her size; everything would fit.

Truthfully, Zelda had already given thought to running away. Technically, she had nothing to lose but a grand life in the castle, the only known family she had left, the familiarity of home, and comfort of being looked out for by most everyone. Everything a young girl my age could ever want, she thought sarcastically, and immediately felt an immense wave of remorse wash over her. Not everyone was as lucky as she was, to be taken care of and worried about every minute of the day, to be provided for and to have everything she needed at hand.

Zelda knew that she was being very rash about her actions. Countless stories had been told to her about young ladies running away from home seeking love and ending up broken by failure. Still, Impa seemed to have everything well planned out, at least for now. Zelda sat on her bed, fingering the spectacles and weighing out the situation.

If she left, she would be free to be Zelda; just Zelda and not Her Royal Highness or Crown Princess of Hyrule or Princess Zelda or some other obnoxiously long title. She would be able to choose who she married, what she did with her day, what time to wake up. She would be able to make her own friends, socialize with real people and not prim nobles who sugar-coated every word they spoke.

But Zelda was new and inexperienced to the ways of the world outside of the palace. She wasn't sure of how to manage all by herself, having been extremely sheltered for her whole life. She didn't even know of all the possible dangers lurking beyond the castle walls. She couldn't fend for herself and wasn't sure of what to do for a living. And surely her father would send party after search party out after finding out that she was missing. Zelda didn't know how to hide, how to avoid them.

She fell back on her bed, looking up at the ceiling thoughtfully and blowing out a long sigh. With an abrupt movement, she sat back up again and slid into the chair at her desk, grabbing the nearest piece of parchment at hand. She scribbled hastily away at the piece of paper, then folded it up into a small square and tucked it into an envelope, sealing it with wax. It was a note to Impa, a very short note that didn't need the formal appearance that the princess had given it as an extra precaution.

With the note out of the way, Zelda turned back to the costume that was splayed messily across her bed. She gathered the dress, apron, and scarf into her arms and stuffed them underneath her mattress. She replaced a tiara that she only wore for special occasions with the glasses, shutting the lid of the intricately carved wooden box that usually held the bejeweled beauty. She held the tiara with both hands out at arm's length and said to it gaily,

"I wonder how much they'll auction you off for when they find out that I'm not coming back."

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Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaad ending. Disappointing, isn't it? :[ I tried. It'll be better next time. Ideas, questions, comments? Please leave me a review! :D No seriously, I need reviews. Someone needs to tell me what happens next in the story. _


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